Dancing in the Dark
by the original killerpineapple
Summary: LMSS 'He wanted the romance he and Narcissa had never had, their marriage being one of convenience. He wanted tender kisses and lingering glances. He wanted someone to hold and sway with in the failing sunlight.'


Disclaimer: I own nobody, although Lucius and Snape are a bit ooc. Also, the soap opera is based on a real soap.

Dancing in the Dark. 

_For the sake of common decency SHUT UP!_ Narcissa, being the inconsiderate, reluctant wife that she is, declines to read my thoughts. I reflect that, even if she could hear my silent pleas for silence, she'd probably just raise her voice in protest.

"…why we even come on holiday in the first place! All you do is drink and ignore us. I need to be entertained!"

_Entertained?! What am I, a dancing monkey?! _

"…and it's not just me! I'm sure Draco agrees. Don't you darling?" Draco hasn't been fooled by terms of endearment since he was about five, and he certainly isn't now, at the mature age of nine. He rolls his eyes and holds out his hand, into which I place a few notes, and then he saunters off to spend my money and thus gain some temporary friends.

_That's my boy. _

Narcissa watches him go before rounding on me, flinging her arms into the air for dramatic effect. "What did you do that for? You can't buy the boy's love…"

_And you can't emotionally blackmail him for it. _

Our argument continues for a while, Narcissa scolding me in furious whispers and me defending myself and insulting her in my head. She thinks she's winning and can vent some of her frustration, and I know that my counter-arguments are stronger and she can't chastise me for my unvoiced thoughts. It's win-win.

She stops talking momentarily when the lights flicker, as they've been doing for the past few days, but when they stop she resumes where she took off. According to her I'm a cold-hearted, self-involved bigot, although where this tirade has come from I couldn't say. I feel so terribly tired.

My eyes wander towards the door as Dumbledore, McGonagall and Snape, slightly behind the other two and looking unbelievably sullen, step onto the large veranda and pick the table next to ours.

"Are you even listening to me?"

"Hm?"

"Argh!"

She starts again, from the beginning. Snape smirks.

When we were in the airport and saw the unlikely group sitting in the check-in lounge, I thought I couldn't be more dismayed. However, as they boarded the plane, _my_ plane, and arrived at the hotel, _my _hotel, my distress increased. To say that Dumbledore and I have our differences (which is illuminated by my impeccable fashion sense vs. his Hawaiian shirts and colourful shorts) is an understatement. I have never had anything against Minerva, although her love of tartan offends me somewhat. I concede that my wife may have a point when she says I'm superficial.

Snape, on the other hand, is an enigma. Although we've worked together for Voldemort for many years, I've never really noticed him. As well as being quiet and reclusive, secretive even, he has a sharp intellect I can't help but feel threatened by, so I distance myself from him as much as I can. I take notice of his clothes (still black, but not billowing as much as usual) and am relived to see he doesn't look as foolish or as garish as his associates. In fact, he looks rather fetching.

I realise that I'm staring and look away, see my wife's reddening face, and glance back. My ears may be being assaulted, but my eyes needn't undergo similar treatment. Not that Narcissa's ugly, quite the opposite. I might even be attracted to her if I was of that persuasion. I've been considering divorce lately (I have my heir, after all) but the fact remains that I'd rather not be alone, so I guess I'll have to cope with her for a while longer.

Severus stands (his companions barely notice him), straightens a picture he's been glaring at for a few moments, and walks stiffly to the bar. He returns with three wine glasses held in his pale fingers and places them on the table. Minerva and Albus sip theirs while conversing, whereas Severus simply tips back his head, revealing a silver earring normally hidden by his hair, and drains the glass in one go. His hand tightens on the glass as his irritation with the conversation increases, creating red dots underneath his neatly clipped fingernails. His hand are long and slender, yet somehow still dainty. They are-there's no other word for it-pretty.

The lights flicker again, but this time they fail and plunge us into darkness. I see my chance and move faster than I ever have before, making my escape before anyone can see me. On my way past I find Severus' wrist and pull him to his feet, leaning closer to whisper in his ear.

"Follow me. Quickly!" I lace my fingers in his and we practically run, weaving our way through the confused crowd.

'' '' ''

_Lucius saw them dancing at the water's edge. Severus and the man Lucius hadn't recognized at the airport, the one who held his hand and laughed easily, who whispered in Severus' ear and made him blush, whose actions earned nostalgic glances from their older comrades._

_And he was jealous. _

_He wanted the romance he and Narcissa had never had, their marriage being one of convenience. He wanted tender kisses and lingering glances. He wanted someone to hold and sway with in the failing sunlight. _

'' '' ''

Severus leans lethargically against a wall, out of view of other tourists.

"Is there a particular reason you've kidnapped me?" He drawls, the sneer absent from his face coming through in his voice. I smirk.

"I feared you would kill your companions if you had to endure much more of their tedium. Besides, I'm sure you're much more entertaining than my wife." I brush hair from his face and kiss the spot beneath his ear.

"Are you flirting with me, Lucius?"

"Maybe." My lips brush his neck. "Why?" My hand finds its way under his shirt. "Is it working?" He blushes and I can't help but laugh. It sounds cruel, even to me. He pushes me away slightly, but his hand rests lightly on my waist. He tries to smile, but his obsidian eyes betray him.

"What do you want Lucius? Sex? Because I don't have anything better to do." Now it's my turn to blush, startled by his bluntness.

_Ah, touché. _

"Wow, you really know how to render a man speechless, don't you?"

"Finally, my mission in life has been fulfilled. Oh happy day." I don't really have a reply to his sarcastic comment, so I kiss him instead. When I pull away he looks slightly less hostile.

"Come on. I need something a bit stronger to drink. Wine just doesn't cut it, I'm afraid."

'' '' ''

Severus Snape is bouncing on my bed. That is not a euphemism, he is literally jumping on the bed, much like a child would. His drink must have been strong indeed. His head is inches from he ceiling and I fully expect to hear a sickening crunch any minute now.

I turn towards my mini-bar to get myself a drink (I am aware that it's impolite to refuse Severus one, but I believe that he is inebriated enough) and when I turn around he is lying on his stomach, inspecting whatever long-forgotten items lie beneath the bed.

I sit with my back against the headboard and watch Severus with growing amusement. He is practically under the bed, and when he speaks his voice is nothing more than an incoherent babble of sounds.

"Pardon?" He pulls himself up and flops backwards onto the bed, lying across my legs.

"I said there are three broken panels in the bed frame." I raise an eyebrow.

"Unsurprising, considering that you've just assaulted it." He grins sheepishly.

"Sorry, I think I'm a little tipsy."

"That's a bit of an understatement." He rolls off the bed, strangely gracefully for someone so intoxicated, and disappears around the corner, into the small corridor leading to the door. I hear the door handle moving and start to get up, worried that I've offended him. He appears back around the corner a moment later, grinning impishly.

"Just making sure that the door's locked."

'' '' ''

When I wake up the next morning Severus has already gone, and I'm grateful he didn't stick around to make uncomfortable small talk. He's also made the bed around me. It's strange, pedantic, but also kind of cute. I slide out from between the sheets, careful not to mess it up, and go to take a shower. There's a note on the door saying 'I took the liberty of using your bathroom.' I make a sound which is half laugh, half sigh and move into the bathroom.

When I get out of the shower the mirror has steamed up and I can see faint traces made in previous condensation by Severus' pretty fingers.

I realise that the point of a holiday romance is to have a fleeting affair with someone you don't know and have no intention of seeing again, and that turning my one night stand with Severus into something more could hold host to a whole string of problems. But that one word, 'tonight?', is so inviting, creates so many possibilities.

How can I say no?

'' '' ''

Someone knocks on the door again and I draw my eyebrows together, confused as to who it could be at this time of night. Severus listens with his head cocked to one side. I'm about to answer the door when I hear Narcissa's voice.

"Shit! Quick, hide!" I whisper and roll into the gap between the bed and wall, pulling Severus with me. He utters a shocked squeak and lands on top of me, rumpled sheets and all. We sit up and I tug the sheets over our heads.

"What, exactly, are we hiding from?" Severus has the presence of mind to keep his voice low.

"My wife." Severus smirks infuriatingly.

"I highly doubt she can see us."

"I swear, she is not human. For all I know she has x-ray vision."

"If that's the case then hiding behind the wall's not going to be much help." She raps on the door again and I place my finger over Severus' lips to signal for him to be quiet. "And it'll take more than that to silence me." I kiss him, and apparently that _is_ an effective way to silence him. "Why do you and Narcissa have separate rooms?" Strangely, I don't mind divulging my domestic issues to him.

"We hate each other. I needed an heir, she wanted the money. I think I'll file for divorce." I poke my head around the corner with the intention of checking if she's gone, temporarily forgetting that I can't see through doors. Severus continues in an exaggerated whisper.

"If you're getting a divorce, why do we need to hide?"

"Because if she knew I was having an affair, she might request more money in the divorce settlement than I'm willing to give her." He rolls his eyes.

"I'm flattered that you'd risk your wealth for a brief association with me." I smile and elbow him lightly in the ribs.

"Sarky git."

'' '' ''

Severus fails to turn up with McGonagall and Dumbledore, and when the lights diminish (which they do unfailingly almost every might) I am forced to flee alone.

I open my door and flick the light switch, then jump when I see Severus lying on his stomach on my bed, head propped in his hands, staring at the television.

"Merlin Severus! Don't do that!"

"Shush!" He waves his hand impatiently, his eyes rooted to the screen. I sit beside him tentatively.

"What are you watching?"

"It's some sort of soap opera." I shake my head in disbelief.

"Severus?"

"Hm?"

"It's in Turkish."

"I know. It's impossible to follow the dialogue, but I get the general gist of it." I look at the screen, where a man is kicking someone sprawled across the floor and a woman stands back, apparently distraught.

"What's going on then?"

"This I'm not so sure of. He…" he gestures towards the screen "is angry because the other guy knocked a Petri dish of something, possibly unborn children, out of his wife's hand. Oh dear, he has a gun now." The adverts come on and Severus rolls onto his back to fill me in on the plot of the TV programme I have no interest in. I watch the way his lips move instead.

"He ran over the fisherman's dog and the fisherman got very upset and cursed him, so he took it to the creepy vet and it lived-the dog, not the creepy vet- but he split up with his fiancé-the dog-killer, not the dog- because he impregnated another woman and she-his fiancé, not the pregnant girl-was so upset that she tried to cut her hair, but her sister- who's in love with the man in the wheelchair, who was angry at the stairs- stopped her and now she's being berated by her parents, the lawyer and two old women oh shh it's back on." He says all of this without taking a breath before turning around and ogling the TV once more.

"Sev-"

"Shh!" I tap my foot impatiently for a while, before someone knocks on the door. "I ordered pizza." Severus comments disjointedly. I wait for him to get it and, when he doesn't, sigh exasperatedly and trudge towards the door.

The delivery boy is about eighteen, annoying, fidgety and dim. And the bastard's happy about it too. I try to pay him but he won't stop talking. I hear what sounds like theme music in the background and Severus appears behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist and kissing my neck.

"Come to bed darling." That shuts the kid up. He stares at us with wide eyes, perfectly aware that I'm married. Severus surveys him with a raised eyebrow. "What? Care to join us?" The boy's eyes grow even wider and he shakes his head vigorously, looking terrified.

"N...no Sir." A pause. "Thank you." I struggle to hide a smirk.

"Run along then." Severus takes the pizza from his hand and slams the door shut.

"You're wicked."

"I know. Do you think he's still out there?" We press our heads as close together as is humanly possible and stare through he small window in the door, but can't see anything. Severus starts to turn the handle and I grab his wrist.

"What if he's still out there?" Severus looks at me condescendingly and I feel like a student. I suddenly pity anyone currently attending Hogwarts.

"Screw it, I'm opening the door." He flings it open with just as much melodramatic flair as when he'd closed it. The boy is pacing a little further up the hallway, hesitating occasionally and preparing to knock on Narcissa's door, presumably to alert her to the sodomy going on right under her nose.

He turns and freezes when he sees Severus, a look of blatant horror on his pasty face. Severus smiles and winks, and the boy flees as if for his very life. Severus cackles lightly and makes his way to the bed, to eat his pizza and watch his incomprehensible soap.

'' '' ''

We walk in companionable silence, not bothering to hide from other tourists. Quite frankly, I believe they're scared of Severus. This isn't helped by the pizza boy's retelling of recent events, or the fact that Severus spends a fair portion of his day in a dark corner of the bar staring at said pizza boy, occasionally winking or blowing kisses at him. Today he slipped him a note saying 'room 117, five minutes' and signed with a kiss. I've told him to leave they guy alone, but he says it's his own fault for being nosy and judgemental.

I've started to hope that our relationship could be more long-term, and am thinking about divorce more and more.

Sev clenches my hand so hard it hurts, but I don't tell him to stop.

Narcissa appears around the corner, searching frantically but trying to seem nonchalant. I wonder if Severus has seen her, but before I can ask he's pinned me to a wall, successfully shielding me from her.

"Ow."

"Shh! She might hear you."

"Do you know how hard this is going to be to explain if she does find me?"

"Unless she's very meticulous in her searching I doubt she'll look for you under other men." I laugh and he kisses me to trap the sound. I half hope Narcissa does see us, just to see her reaction, and Severus'. I imagine Severus asking Narcissa if she'd care to join us and start to giggle. I can't seem to stop, and Severus' raised eyebrow just worsens matters.

Narcissa turns her back to us and Severus hisses "Run!" We do, and don't stop until we reach my room and lock the door. We sit on the floor and press our ears to the door, hoping Narcissa hasn't seen us and followed, yet still trying to stifle sniggers. Finally Severus cracks and laughs loudly. He seems surprised by the sound, as if unfamiliar with it, and I realise that I've never heard him laugh. He's sneered, smirked, cackled and even giggled (oh what would Hogwarts make of the news that their potion's master is ticklish?) but never laughed.

I think it's the most wonderful sound I've ever heard.

'' '' ''

Severus sleeps with his back to me, and when I wake I prop myself up on my elbow and watch the small movements of his back muscles and prominent ribs his light breathing causes. It's the first time I've woken to his presence, and instead of the irritation and discomfort I thought I would feel, I feel only a huge relief that he's not gone.

_Severus Snape, I think I'm falling in love with you. _

The admission scares me, not because I've never fallen in love (I have, many times) but because my love has always been reciprocated. When Narcissa and I still shared a bed, before Draco was born, we slept with our backs to one another, our dislike being mutual.

What makes me uneasy is that I don't _know_ how Severus feels, what he thinks. I can't see whether or not he's happy, and the back of his head's giving nothing away.

I sigh and check the clock. I have fifteen minutes before I'm due to meet Narcissa and Draco for breakfast. I don't want to wake Severus, I want him to be here when I get back, but I lean over him and shake his shoulder lightly nonetheless. He mumbles something which sounds like bugger off and buries his face in the pillow. I brush the hair from his face and speak softly in his ear.

"Sev? You need to leave." He swats my hand away and sits up laboriously.

"That's bloody gratitude for you." He blinks a few times and then just sits, staring into space.

"Sev?" He shakes his head rapidly.

"Okay, I'm going." he swings his legs over the side of the bed and I cling to his waist, my head dropping to his shoulder. "Lucius, I can't leave if you won't let go of me."

"I don't want you to leave."

"You just said that you did!"

"No I didn't. I said that you _needed_ to leave."

"Oh sorry. My mistake." I want to tell him to stay forever, that I love his sarcastic comments and stubborn assertions that he's right, he's always right. I want to tell him that I get jealous when he flirts with the pizza boy, even though I know he only does it to frighten him. I want to ask him to go back to sleep, just so I can watch his grumpy resurface into wakefulness again.

Instead I prod his stomach, listen to his giggle, and release him. I heave myself from the bed and start to dress.

We open the door slightly and peer through the gap, checking that the coast is clear. It strikes me that we seem to do this an awful lot.

"Can I see you tonight?" I'm not sure why I'm whispering, the corridor's deserted.

"If you're good."

"I can't promise anything." The door to Narcissa's room starts to open and I push Severus out of the door. He starts to walk away but, when Narcissa returns to her room(presumably she's forgotten something), he rushes back and kisses my cheek before hurrying away again. That small display of affection is enough to get me through breakfast.

'' '' ''

"Albus and Minerva are getting on my nerves. They want to know where I am every second of every day." I smile inwardly, knowing that he's grateful for their concern.

"Why did you come on holiday with them then?"

"Just another step in my plan to find a hot, rich knight in shining armour to whisk me away on his noble steed." I know I shouldn't, but I can't help but ask about the man he was with at the airport. He turns onto his side, his back facing me. I touch his shoulder lightly but he shrugs my hand off.

"Turns out there was a chink in his armour after all."

'' '' ''

"Don't hurt me!" I look at the man with utter disdain and tighten my grip on his collar.

"Get a backbone. I don't know what Severus saw in you."

"Oh, I see. Severus gets hurt and sends you to seek his petty little revenge?" I laugh bitterly.

"You really have no idea what you've lost, do you?" I let go of the man's neck and step back, brushing invisible dust from my clothes. "You know, I don't have to hurt you. Because you will neverfind anyone as amazing as Severus again, and you're going to realise that soon." I lower my voice to a whisper and watch the man shrink from my glare. "Then you're life won't be worth living." I turn quickly on my heel and march away from him, grinning as he hurls timid insults at my turned back.

'' '' ''

I walk into my room, closing the door behind me, and jump when I see Severus sitting on the end of my bed. His glare is so scathing it would make the Dark Lord himself flee in terror.

"I do not need you to fight my battles. You have no right." I try to slide my arms around his waist but he pushes me away.

"I was just trying to protect you."

"Well maybe I don't want you to! I didn't ask you to interfere in my life, and now it seems I can't get rid of you." I refuse to believe that he means any of what he's saying, but his eyes are cold and dark, and so angry.

"I'm sorry, Sev. I didn't know it would upset you so much." Severus laughs sardonically.

"Stop it Lucius. You don't care whether or not you hurt me. I'm nothing more than a brief affair, something to keep you entertained until you have to go back to your busy life and real commitments. You have no intention of leaving your wife. I think we both know that. " Before I can stop him he's out of the door, leaving me to wonder what I did wrong.

'' '' ''

Severus picks gingerly at his food, only half listening to Hagrid, who is talking at length about blast-ended screwts, and has been doing so for the last half hour. He keeps glancing at the Gryffindor table, hoping to catch one of the students breaking some minor rule so he can deduct points from them.

A few girls (and Flitwick) scream as they are plunged into darkness. Severus feels cool fingers close around his wrist and pull him to his feet. Lips brush against his ear.

"Follow me. Quickly!"

'' '' ''

_Lucius had realised that he'd lost Severus and had cried for the first time since his childhood. Because when he was with Severus, he could be happy. He could see everything as beautiful, clear, simple. There was no fog clouding his vision, bringing out the worst in everyone. He needn't regret the way he'd assembled his life, with its empty fortune and superficial family, if he could hold Severus' hand and laugh openly with him, and feel his lips on his own. _

'' '' ''

Severus starts to talk, but I press my finger to his lips.

"I left my wife." Severus is silent then. There is nothing left to say. We hold onto one another and sway gently, and I can forget everything. I can forget my worries of the divorce settlement and the custody battle over Draco which will inevitably ensue, because right now there is nowhere I'd rather be than here, standing in Severus' arms, dancing in the dark.


End file.
